


I Know It's Just A Phase (that's alright with me)

by gloomy_loom



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: ASL, Adopted Virgil, Alternate Universe - High School, Anxiety, Deaf Character, High School AU, I Don't Even Know, I mean, M/M, Prinxiety - Freeform, drama king roman, emo punk virgil, football player roman, kind of, kind of a fake dating au?, logicality - Freeform, narcoleptic remy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-07-23 16:36:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16162742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloomy_loom/pseuds/gloomy_loom
Summary: Sick of his dad’s overprotective nature, Roman decides to prove his choices are his own.Virgil knows it’s not real, and he really should have said no, but… Well.  His parents are worried about his lack of social life, right?Inspired by an edit made by romanticsanders on tumblr - check her out.





	1. 18, Crazy

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by an edit made by romanticsanders on tumblr - check her out.
> 
> Playlist:
> 
> Literally just '18' by Anarbor
> 
> Also, pardon the quality. I've been getting serious tension headaches, and they make me too tired to edit properly.

 

 

 

“I’m just… so _sick_ of him treating me like I’m twelve!”  Roman snapped, dropping his books onto the staff room table with a loud thud.  “I mean, I _get_ that I’m all he has left or whatever, but I’m almost eighteen-”

“In nine months…”  Terrence half sang.

“-and I know what I’m doing!  He can’t just keep me from dating forever, it’s not up to him and he knows it.”

Valerie sighed, dropping into the seat across from him.  “We all know who and when you date is up to you, Roman, and somewhere in his head, your Dad knows too.  He’s just worried. You know how well his last relationship went- you really are all he has left.”

“I know,”  Roman huffed, dropping his chin into his hand.  And he _did_ know.  But the twenty minute argument he’d had with his dad this morning had left him royally pissed off.  Who was he, to tell Roman who he was allowed to be with? He was his father, not his owner.

“Your dad loves you,”  Leo murmured, slumping forward onto his arms.

“I know.  And I know he’d lighten up if I could just get him to understand that it’s _my_ choice.”  He froze, head coming up sharply.  “Wait, that’s it!”

Terrence looked over at him, wary, “What is?”

“That’s what I need to do!”  He jumped up, hands waving, eyes wide with excitement.  “I need to make him understand that it’s up to me either way, and how else to do that but actually start dating someone?”

Valerie pulled a face at him, tone uncertain.  “Is that really a good reason to date someone…?”

“It’ll only be until my dad stops trying to end it himself.  And I’ll be sure to pick someone casual, so I don’t hurt any feelings or whatever when I break it off.  I don’t need a crazy ex, thank you.”

“Um…”  They traded glances.  “Are you… sure about this, Roman?”

He rolled his eyes,  “How else am I supposed to do it?  I have to make him understand, and he won’t listen to me.”

Leaning back consideringly, Leo concedes, “Alright, man, if you really think so.  But who are you gonna date?”

“Yeah,”  Valerie added, holding up a finger, “Is there even anyone you’ve been interested in lately?”

Roman’s thoughts ground to halt for a second, before launching into a spin. “It has to be someone my dad won’t like.  I need to really show I mean this.”

His friends shared another look, but ultimately decided not to argue.  They knew Roman wouldn’t listen, anyway. “Well, your dad’s pretty accepting, who won’t he like?”

“Uh,” Leo shrugged lightly, “there’s that Devon kid.  Pretty sure no parent would like him, no matter how nice they were.”

Valerie and Terrence loosed loud noises of disgust, and Roman waved a hand erratically.  “No, no no, not happening.”

“I’m pretty sure his last girlfriend had to transfer schools after they broke up,” Terrence said, looking quietly appalled.

“Yeah, he spread, like, a ton of lies about her.  People started bullying her and everything.” Valerie leaned forward, a hard look in her eye.

“Okay, so he’s a no.  But who else...?”

Roman jerks upright, eyes gleaming.  “Guys, I know _just_ the person.”

 

\--

 

Virgil pulled his hoodie tighter around himself, dreading History the way he always did, and wishing he could get away with skipping.  The hand that landed on his shoulder nearly sent him a foot into the air, and he whipped around with a snarl on his face.

“Calm down, gurl.  It’s only Team Fabulous.”  One of Remy’s eyebrows rose high, and he peered over his sunglasses, sipping on a frappuccino.

Alex stood next to him, looking far more concerned.  “You okay?” He signed, movements a little hesitant, but not at all afraid.  Not anymore, at least.

“I’m fine, A.  What’s up?”

“Gurl, you are jumpier than a damn cat in a dog park.  We just wanted to know if we’re meeting tonight for ASLC.  I was gonna bring coffees, we can watch the park-goers gawk at the weird Deaf kids.”  Remy always said ASLC - the American Sign Language Club - like ‘ _Aslick’_ simply because he was too lazy to even say the acronym, let alone the full name.   _“Time is coffee, sugar, and I ain’t got the money to waste that much coffee on this mouthful.”_

“Uh, yeah, as of now that’s fine.  I’ll have to double check that my dads don’t have plans.”  Virgil shrugged, hands shoved deep into his hoodie pockets.

“Sure thing, hun, text us.”  Remy tossed, already turning away, “We’ll just do it later if you can’t.”

A silent laugh had him ducking his head.  ASLC only had three members- Remy S., the local narcoleptic;  Alex C., the only Deaf kid in the entire school; and Virgil, the school’s resident emo-punk.  Basically, misfit central. And since it was just the three of them, if one was busy, there was really no point in meeting.

“See you later, V!”  Alex waved animatedly, smiling wide at him.

“Goodbye.”

He watched them walk away, hood pulled up around his face, until the bell echoed sharply through the halls.  With a muttered curse, he turned and slipped quickly into his classroom.

Virgil hated his History class.  Not because of the subject- he actually enjoyed that part.  No, the one and only reason he absolutely loathed going to his History class was Roman García-Sanders.

Roman was one of the most popular people in the school, being both the star of the Drama Club and the Running Back on the football team.  He’d also been the President of the Spanish Club during Freshman and Sophomore year- he’d only dropped it so he’d have more free time. Roman was extraverted and charming, confident, and most definitely upper class.  Roman was also one of the hottest guys in school, according to Remy.

And he was in Virgil’s history class.

Unfortunate.

It wasn’t that Roman was a bully, really.  He could be rude, sure, but so could anyone, and it never seemed to be targeted at anyone specifically.  It was more that the Running Back was just so far above the general populace, and even farther above Virgil, that he couldn't be bothered to give them any notice unless someone got in his way.  Which would be fine, really- Virgil knew he was in the lowest caste at the school. It was fine.

Except Virgil kind of thought Roman was beautiful.

Which was a problem.Virgil’s anxiety went through the roof around people he liked, and considering how high his baseline already was, class with a crush was almost unbearable.  Virgil was honestly just thankful they didn’t have Chemistry together- Logan would most definitely have noticed the crush, and tried to partner them together every chance he got.  He was evil that way. Luckily, Roman sat on the other side of the classroom, next to his pack or flock or whatever of his favorite theatre kid friends.

Except, apparently, for today.

Virgil froze just inside the classroom door, staring.  Instead of enjoying his usual place by the windows, Roman García-Sanders was sitting on the left side of the room, near the back, right next to Virgil’s empty seat.  The only empty seat left in the classroom, since Virgil was late, and people generally didn’t skip Mr. Howell’s classes.

Mr. Howell moved towards the front of the room, readying his lecture, and Virgil forced himself back into motion.

_What the actual fuck._

Why the hell would Roman move seats?  Especially considering all of his friends were still sitting on the other side of the room, quietly talking to each other and occasionally throwing not-so-subtle glances in his direction.

Virgil slid into his seat and pulled his notes out without a word, surreptitiously tugging his hood a little farther up.

“Hey.”

He could do this, if he just focused on his work, and pretended Roman García-Sanders wasn’t less than a foot from him.

_“Hey,”_

God, this would be so much easier if Roman would stop talking.  His voice was distracting, and who the hell would he be talking to over here, anyways?

_“Virgil.”_

Virgil’s head jerked around before he could think better of it, and he stared in mild shock when his eyes met Roman’s.  Roman, who was leaning halfway across the aisle, looking straight at him, and apparently _talking to him_.

Fuck.

“Uh, yeah?”

_Intelligent._

Roman leaned even closer, green-hazel eyes glittering in a way that Virgil found irritatingly distracting.  “Can I talk to you, later? Like, at lunch or something?”

Virgil’s heart rate spiked wildly, and his hands clenched tight in his hoodie pockets.  Fuck, they were shaking. What could Roman want with him? The most popular and confident boy in school, who hadn’t said more than two words to Virgil before, wanted to talk to him later?  And it had to be a real, actual conversation, if they couldn’t just do it now. Had Virgil done something? He couldn’t remember anything; maybe he knocked into one of the theatre royalty in the hall or something, oh god.

“Um, I guess, yeah.  I-I eat in room 114, usually, so… yeah.”  He cursed his stuttering with a wince. Christ, how was he going to hold an actual conversation later?

“Awesome!  I’ll come find you then!”  Roman chirped. Smiling wide and stupidly bright at him.

_Fucking- don’t… do that, hell._

“... Yeah.”

 

 

 

*

 


	2. guess we're off to a heavy start

 

 

 

Virgil wiped his palms on his thighs, walking towards room 114 without a lunch because  _ fucking hell _ the idea of eating right now was uncomfortable at best.  Luckily, Remy was retaking a test and Alex was meeting with his councilor today; Virgil didn’t want to even try to explain right now.  His head just kept going in circles-

What does he want? Did I do something to piss him off?  Does he need help with something? Is this a prank, a joke?  What if he brings all his friends and they do something to him?  What-

_ Breathe _ .  That time, the voice in his head sounded suspiciously like his dad.  It was almost enough to calm him down.

When Virgil pushed the door open, he was surprised to find Roman already there, leaning against a table, wearing that stereotype red and cream letterman jacket of his.  He glanced up when Virgil walked in, green eyes stupidly pretty, and blinked.

“Hey.”

Virgil stiffened, tucking his shaking hands away in his hoodie pockets.  “Hey,” he muttered. “You… need something?”

“Um, well…”  Roman took a step nearer, shuffling his feet slightly.  Virgil stared. “I had a question, actually. For you.”

Virgil licked his lips, shoulders tightening.  “Oh?”

“Yeah, I- Well, I was just wondering,”  Roman shrugged one shoulder a little, swaying on his feet.  “If you would, maybe, wanna go out sometime. Like, if you were interested in… dating.  Me. Maybe.”

… 

…  _ What? _

_ “What?” _  Virgil was frozen, staring at the drama king with wide eyes. 

Roman shifted uncomfortably, lifted his chin.  “Yeah, like, a date. We could- go get coffee, or something... ?  I mean, something like that?”

“I- I…”

Virgil couldn’t think.  Was this some sort of joke?  Like any moment Roman would laugh and say ‘Hah, gotcha!’ and walk away?  Why in the hell would Roman ask  _ Virgil _ out on a date?  Him? There was just no way, no reason for someone like Roman to-

_ Oh. _

Oh.  Remy, gossip queen that he was, had just been talking about this, about how Roman had stalked into the Drama Meet in the staff room steaming, ranting about how his dad wouldn’t let him date or something like that.  About how he needed to show him he was all grown up or whatever.

And suddenly it made sense, what Roman was saying (kind of).  Virgil was the school punk, the weird emo kid who punched out that basketball player a foot taller than him that one time in Sophomore year.  The kid with a lip ring and an eyebrow piercing and purple dyed hair.

The kid no parent would want their perfect, rich, A-plus student son bringing home.

And Virgil wondered why he kind of wanted to cry, because that was ridiculous.  Roman wanted the little rebellion against daddy that came with dating the ‘Bad Boy’.  This shouldn’t surprise Virgil, it’s not like there was any other reason someone like Roman would talk to him.

And, obviously, Virgil should say no.  Of course.

“You… said something about coffee?”

Roman’s face lit up, and Virgil felt something shake somewhere in his chest.

_ Ah, fuck.  Remy’s gonna have a hayday with this. _

“Yeah!  Are you free today?”  Roman bounced slightly, looking pleased and excited.  Virgil’s stomach squirmed.

“Um, I have ASLC tonight.  Does tomorrow work?”

He asked, “What’s Aslick?”

“Uh, A-S-L-C.  American Sign Language Club.  We have a meet tonight, and…”

“Oh,”  Roman said, head tilting.  “I didn’t know we has a club for that.  I have Drama tomorrow, how about Friday?”

“Okay.  Yeah, uh- yeah.  Okay.” Virgil felt his face heat, and silently thanked his dad for buying the expensive concealer.

“Cool, I’ll see you then.”  Roman smiled dazzlingly at him again, before swaggering out of the room.

Virgil took a deep breath.

\--

“Oh my fucking god, gurl, he did not.”  Remy snapped, leaning forward over his coffee and, in his shock, forgetting to keep his hands in Alex’s view.  Not that alex seemed to mind, as he was leaning toward Virgil with a similar, if quieter, expression of utter disbelief and shock.

Honestly, Virgil felt the same.  “He fucking did. I think. Maybe someone slipped something into my coffee this morning and I hallucinated the whole thing.”

_ More likely, at least. _

“R-O-M-A-N actually asked you out.  On a date?” Alex signed, heavily emphasizing each letter of Roman’s name.  “The Drama Prince wants to date you?”

“Yes, he did.  Fuck, what do I do?  What the heck am I supposed to do with this?”

Remy honked a single, incredulous laugh.  “Boy, you are gonna jump on that stick with  _ vigour _ .  Everyone in the damn school has wanted a piece of that boy since he hit puberty.  And I know you haven’t been here all that long, but honey, you are the first person he’s asked out that any of us know of.  You ain’t passing that up.”

Alex nodded, though he looked more sweetly supportive than commanding.

“Guys, this is  _ Roman García-Sanders _ .  Why the hell would he wanna date me?”  Virgil’s stomach turned, and he leaned on the table.  The others watched him with some concern. “What if it’s fake?  What if he and his friends are playing some sort of joke? It could be a dare, or- or- something like that.  What-”

“Alright, hun, slow your roll,”  Remy interrupted, “You need to calm down.  I know your last school had some bullying problems, and I won’t say we don’t have a couple bad apples here, but Roman isn’t like that.”

Alex nodded supportively, looking gently worried, “Right.  He’s always been indifferent to us, at worst, and maybe a little ignorant towards me, considering- you know, Deaf.  But he’s never been cruel.”

Virgil groaned and scrubbed at his face.  “That’s even  _ worse _ ,”  He gasped, and the other two stared at him like he was crazy.

“What the hell do you mean, gurl?”

Virgil’s signs went fast and sloppy, even missing a few words.  “I mean even if he was actually interested-”  _ and Virgil knew he wasn’t, Remy should know too _ “- and then he gets to know me, and he realizes I’m weird and anxious like  _ all the time _ and I don’t know how to date or how to talk to people or be  _ normal _ -”

Alex slammed a hand down hard on the table, and Virgil jerked to a halt, panting slightly.

Alex glared him down, before sharply signing one word:   _ “Wrong.” _

“Virgil Casey,”  Remy said, leaning forward, and Virgil jerked in surprise at hearing the narcoleptic use his actual name, “You are a mess as much as all of us are hot messes, but you are far from unlovable, or undesirable.  There is no reason for that boy to not like you. And even if it doesn’t work out, it will  **not** be because something is wrong with you.”  Remy leaned back, body losing all of that uncharacteristic tension at once, and added, “Besides, if you don’t jump on that popsicle, I will never forgive you gurl.”

Alex let out a silent laugh, shoulders shaking, and Virgil tried not to get whiplash from his friends changing moods.

“... Okay.”

\--

Virgil felt sweat gather on his palms as he neared his parents’ car.

It hadn’t occurred to him until tenth period that he’d have to tell them about the date.  Even if Roman was just using him to get back at his dad, they were still going to be… dating.  Holy fuck, Virgil had never dated anyone before, he didn’t know how to do this. What if he embarrassed himself?  No, he was definitely going to embarrass himself.  _ But how badly? _

“Hiya, kiddo!”  Patton chirped at him, leaning against Logan’s tan 2009 toyota corolla.

Virgil smiled shakily, and let his adoptive father pull him into a tight hug.  “Hi, Dad.”

Patton gave him a last, mighty squeeze before holding out at arms length.  “How are you? How was school? You look a little pale, did you eat today?”

“I forgot to eat, but Remy forced a cereal bar on me, so.”

The sharp look behind Patton’s smile said he’d noticed Virgil dancing around the most important question, but his adoptive father only pulled him into another quick hug.

“Is everything alright?”

Logan was walking up behind them, folders full of, presumably, homework in need of grading clutched under one arm.  Patton grinned, gripping Virgil in one arm and reaching the other out towards his husband. “All good, Lo. How was your day?”

Logan leaned in to peck him on the lips, then Virgil on the forehead.  “It was fine, and yours?”

“Not so bad.”

Virgil’s hands shook as he climbed into the car, and he struggled with his seatbelt for a moment.  He didn’t know how to broach the subject, how they would react, what they would think. They always encouraged him to get a social life, but did that extend to dating?  Would they understand how weird it was that Roman of all people was the one asking him? They worked in the school, Patton especially saw the cliques.

“Um… guys?”

Logan glanced up at him in the rearview mirror, and Patton turned in his seat, eyes warm and a little careful.  “Yeah, honey?”

“I- Something happened, today.”

“Oh?”  Logan’s measured voice was a little careful, too.  He must be worrying them.

“Yeah.  Um, someone- uh, someone asked me on… a, date.”  He shifted uncomfortably, subconsciously fluffing his hoodie up around him.

Patton gasped loudly, looking ready to launch himself into the back seat.  “Ohmigod a  _ date?” _

He huffed a nervous laugh, “Um, yeah.  This Friday, a coffee date.”

“Oh,”  Patton gasped, eyes softening with nostalgia, “A coffee date.  I remember those.”

Logan cast him a fond, memory-laced look, before finding his son in the mirror again.  “May I ask with whom?”

“Well, uh, it was R-Roman, Garcia-Sanders.  Um, the Running Back.” Virgil winced slightly, wondering if they’d even believe it.

“Oh,”  Patton’s eyes widened, but he grinned and clapped his hands once, softly.  “Oh, how sweet! I didn’t know he likes you! He didn’t say anything.”

He glanced up, sharp.  “Are you his counselor?”

“Yeah, he’s one of mine.  He fell under ‘S’ for Sanders instead of Garcia, for some reason.  I have Q-W’s.”

“I have Roman in my class,”  Logan mused, sounding a little strange, though still calm, which Virgil took as a good sign.  “He’s a fair student. A little distracted. A little loud. He asked you for coffee?”

“Yeah, I-I don’t really know why.”

“‘Cause you’re a cool cat!”  Patton grinned at him, twisting in his seat again.  “What did you say?”

“I … said yes.”

Patton squealed, and Logan  _ hmm _ ed.

Virgil picked nervously at his nails.

_ Shit. _

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Should Have Seen This Coming

 

 

 

The days leading up to Friday were hell on Virgil.  His nails were bitten short enough to make them bleed, before Remy forced him to paint them, and he only barely got by in History, though Roman seemed to have moved back to his window seat with his friends.

Friday morning was the worst, though.  Virgil woke up with his heart pounding, and when someone - probably Patton - dropped a pan in the kitchen, he flew into an anxiety attack.

When he finally calmed down, Logan was seated calmly at the end of the bed, watching him quietly.  Patton stood in the doorway, leaning his hip against it.

“You okay, kiddo?”

Virgil nodded, wiped away the moisture gathering at his eyes.

Logan’s firm hug left him stiff in shock for a moment.  Logan wasn’t all that prone to physical affection, and usually just provided some calming words.  But now he said nothing, just squeezed Virgil tight to his chest, resting his chin on his adoptive son’s head.

Virgil sniffed, pressed close and buried his face against his dad’s chest.  “Love you.”

Calm and quiet, but no less genuine, “I love you, too.”

“Oh, boys,”  Patton sighed, sounding more than a little teary.  “I’ll go start breakfast. You can go a little late today, Virgil, I’ll call it in.”

“Thanks, dad.”

Logan hummed as Paton shuffled off to the kitchen, rubbing a firm hand up Virgil's arm before gripping again.  “Are you nervous about the date?”

Virgil nodded, huffing a little.  “I don’t know how to do this. I feel like I’m gonna do something stupid.”

“Hmm,”  Logan murmured, “You know, I vomited before my first date with Patton.”

“ _ What?” _

“Mhmm.  I was never very good with people, and Patton seemed such a natural with them… I was certain I would insult him somehow.”

“Wow,”  Virgil said, a little wide-eyed.  Logan was so calm, so collected. He got a little uncomfortable with strangers’ emotions, sometimes, but he always seemed to handle it well.

“This is a normal feeling, for those of us with a heightened anxiety, and you will be fine.  I am certain of it.”

“... Thanks, dad.”

Logan’s breath hitched above him, and Virgil resolved to say it more.

“Of course.”

\--

By the time Virgil got to school his History had passed, and he just went straight to lunch.

“You good, gurl?”  Remy asked him, eyebrow quirked, at the same time that Alex signed:

“You okay?”

A tiny smile was sent their way, despite the nerves singing through him.  “Attack.”

Alex nodded understandingly while Remy hummed.  “Oh hun, you’ll be alright. If he fucks with you, he fucks with us, remember.  Not to mention your fathers…”

“Yeah,”  Alex signed, “That’s who I’d be scared of, if I were him.  They’ll destroy him if he hurts you.”

Talking to them helped, but Virgil still didn’t feel ready by the time lunch ended, though his friends sent him off with a sweet  _ “Good luck!” _ and  _ “Get it, gurl.”  _ respectively.

Virgil wondered briefly if jumping out of the window would be enough to land him in the hospital and get him out of this date.

The hospital bill wouldn’t be fair to his parents, though.

Ugh.

\--

The cafe was cute, and walking there gave him time to clear his head a little, so there was that.  He’d worn his only pair of  _ un _ -ripped jeans (though they were still black.  I mean, c’mon), his favorite purple sweater (Patton had knitted it for him), a black leather jacket (he already missed his hoodie, christ), and black and purple Doc Martens (a gift from Logan).  He actually felt kind of okay about himself for a minute, which was nice. He had even gone so far as to use the nice black glitter eyeliner on his waterline- subtle, but it made his eyes more noticeable, which he usually tried to avoid at school.  As eye-catching as his style could be, Virgil wasn’t a big fan of attention.

The building, he saw when he reached it, was a petite little thing painted a soft pastel pink color.  He would almost call it mild, if it weren’t for the gold painted accents- not something one might expect to see in a town like this.

He took a deep, shaking breath.

_ I can do this. _

God, what if he couldn’t?  What if-

“Virgil?”   _ Oh fuck- _

Virgil turned at Roman’s call, and froze.

Roman apparently had a style.  His white T-shirt and red bomber jacket were similar enough to his typical Letterman than the combo somehow screamed ‘Roman’, and the pale jeans and red high tops only added to the feeling.  And those jeans fit  _ perfectly _ .

“Uh, Roman.  Hi.”  _ God, why are you such an idiot? _

“I’m so glad you could make it!”  Roman grinned at him, closing the distance between them seemingly with enthusiasm- more than Virgil would have expected, anyway, considering Roman was stuck on a date with the local emo freak in order to prove something to his father.   _ Not that I’m bitter or anything. _

Not that he really had any right to be- he was the idiot who said yes despite knowing the others’ motives.

“Um, yeah, I’m… glad too.”  He mumbled lamely, trying to ignore the way Roman’s smile caused his heart to trip.

“Great!”  Roman said, before angling his head towards the cafe leadingly.  Virgil followed without a word, and tried to mimic a polite, at least mildly comfortable smile.  He wasn’t sure if he succeeded. He doubted it.

The inside of the cafe was decorated in a warm mixture of pretty maroons and deep greens, which Virgil found rather pleasing.  He hadn’t expected it, from the pink and gold exterior.

“Oh, Roman, honey,” exclaimed an excited voice, and the woman behind the counter dashed around it to reach them.  “How are you?”

She was a plump woman with red framed glasses and equally red lipstick.  A tan, argyle sweater over her white button down and suede shoes gave a slightly nerdy aura, though she pulled it off well.

“I’m wonderful, Dot,”  Roman grinned, letting the woman- Dot, presumably the owner of the cafe -pull him into a tight hug.

“Is that our favorite thespian, I hear?”  A man came from the back, sounding like quite the thespian himself, the way he spoke.  He, Virgil was startled to realize, matched the woman quite well. Wire framed glasses for her red, and an argyle vest and button down to match.  Though his colour scheme seemed to be purple and blue, whereas hers seemed mostly Autumnal. “Roman, you’ve finally come to visit us. It certainly took you long enough.”

Roman grinned brightly, apologizing for his absence and chattering happily with the couple for a few minutes.  Virgil shifted uncomfortably, and simultaneously hoped he wouldn’t be noticed and hoped he wasn’t completely forgotten.

As if hearing his thoughts, the woman’s eyes suddenly landed on him.  “Oh, Roman! Who’s your friend? I’m loving the style! Very edgy,” She gasped excitedly, leaving Virgil fighting off a blush with slightly wide eyes.

Roman smiled, before stepping back to stand beside him, looking strangely proud.  “This is Virgil Casey, from my school. He’s in the ASL Club, amd my History class.”

Virgil glanced strangely at him for the introduction, wondering if the other was simply giving the only information he knew.

“Virgil, this is Dot, and her husband Larry.  They own the cafe. They love theatre, too.” So maybe he just enjoyed giving random character facts in his introductions.

Larry titled his head consideringly and said, before Virgil could stumble through any awkward pleasantries, thank god,  “ASL, huh? You know sign language?”

“Y-yes, sir.”  Virgil said, as clearly as he could.  He tended to mumble when nervous, and peoples’ repeated exclamations of  _ “What?” _ only ever made it worse.

“Interesting.  Being bilingual is incredibly helpful, you know.  That’ll get you the good jobs.” Dot smiled at her husband, and Virgil just blinked, unsure how to respond.

“Well, it’s so nice to meet you, Virgil.  Are you boys here for some coffee? Or tea?  Larry just pulled fresh muffins out of the oven, on the house,”  Dot twittered, already moving away, hands flying alongside her words.

“Calm down, Dot, they don’t have any room to talk,”  Larry snapped affectionately, following her at a more sedate pace.

“Thank you, Dot, Larry!”  Roman called after them, grinning, and looking not the slightest bit disheartened when he garnered no response.  He turned to Virgil, who startled slightly under the attention. “Wanna go grab a seat?”

“Uh, sure.”

“There’s a lovely couch in the far corner, right by the window.”

“Okay.”   _ What teenaged boy says ‘lovely’ casually? _

Once seated, they fell into a somewhat awkward silence.  Or, for Virgil, more like excruciatingly awkward, though Roman only seemed mildly uncomfortable, luckily.  Virgil picked at the quilt layed over the back of the couch.

“So… um, how was ASL Club?” 

The uneasy tone didn’t suit Roman.  He wondered at it- shouldn’t the other be better at this?  At… people? Though, he supposed, Remy had mentioned something about Roman never showing much interest before, maybe he hadn’t been on a date in a while.

_ Lord knows it’s my first time. _

“Uh, it was good,”  He murmured, knee bouncing a little.  Roman started to look nervous, and for the first time all day, Virgil suddenly felt… okay.  Like he could do this. (He’d always been better at staying calm when other people needed him to be).  “It’s kind of nice to have scheduled hangouts with my friends- I’m bad at making plans.”

His- Christ,  _ his date’s _ smile turned a little relieved, “Yeah?  I’m great at making plans. I’m just terrible at following through with them.  I mean, really terrible. My friends all hate it.”

Virgil muffled a small laugh behind his hands, feeling a small amount of tension loosen somewhere within him.  The conversation began to flow a bit more easily after that, something surreal taking over the moment.

“Here you are, honeys!”  Dot sang, dropping a plate of two blueberry muffins and Roman’s coffee on the table in front of them.  “The muffins are fresh, and I made your usual, Ro, just how you like it: Lavender Honey Tea with sugar and milk.”

Roman grinned widely at her, stupidly white teeth and bright eyes and all.  Virgil almost wanted to vomit, and had a brief, slightly hysterical vision of only butterflies - the same green-hazel colour as Roman’s eyes - coming out of his mouth if he tried.  Luckily, his control over his face had returned when Dot turned her eyes on him.

“It’s so nice to finally meet one of Roman’s friends- he never brings anyone by here!  I’d almost think he was ashamed of us, but we’re too great for that, obviously.” She winked at him, red-painted lips pulling into a sweet smile.  “Do you want something to drink? Coffee, tea?”

Virgil couldn’t help his own small smile, even as nerves prickled at his fingers.  “A black coffee would be great, um, thanks.”

“Of course, sweetie, coming right up.”

She spun off towards the kitchen, and Virgil looked back in time to catch the quietly fond look on Roman’s face.

“Friends of yours?”  He murmured, and watched with a flicker of amusement as Roman jumped, and began to look mildly embarrassed.  It was so strange, to see someone so cool look that way. A ridiculous notion, as Roman was still just an eighteen year old kid, but somehow seeing him so human surprised Virgil.  Like he was supposed to be above that.

_ Don’t be stupid. _

“Uh, yeah,”  Roman laughed lightly, “They’re friends with my dad- they were all in Drama together in high school, and worked at the local theatre together after graduation.”

Virgil blinked, “Your dad was in Drama, too?”  Because of course, being popular would just run in the family.

“Yeah.  He’s actually one of the Directors at the theatre, now.”   Roman beamed, face glowing with pride.

“Oh, wow.  That’s, um, really cool, actually.”  He wondered how alike Roman and his dad were.  Whether they looked like eachother, or spoke the same way.  He wondered if their similarities were a product of blood or lifestyle.  Nature or nurture.

He wondered if he was anything like his birth parents.  If he could learn to be anything like Patton and Logan.

“What do your parents do?”  Roman asked, head tilting and actually looking interested.  Virgil wondered if he was just that good an actor.

“Um, well, Patton studies Psychology, and works as a counselor now.  Logan got a bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering.” Both of which were true, but failed to mention that Patton was a counselor at their High School, and that Logan was actually teaching Chemistry there now.  The three of them had sat down to talk about it when Virgil had first started school, and had all agreed that it would be easier on Virgil if no one knew the three were related.

Patton had wanted Virgil to be embarrassed by his parents in front of his friends.  Logan wanted to avoid any accusations of favoritism - which all would have been false, of course, Logan made a point to always remain unbiased.  (Virgil knew, secretly, that Logan was also worried that his adoptive son would be bullied for having to male parents. He didn’t say anything, but swore to himself that he would never make any decisions based on his parents sexuality.  He knew better than that).

“Two dads?”  Roman asked, tilting his head curiously.

“Yeah, so?”  Virgil snapped, tense and defensive.

Roman’s hands shot up, palms out, and his voice was placating when he said, “Nothing, I swear, just curious.  I, being a raging gay myself, obviously have no problem with it.”

Virgil shuffled his shoulders in embarrassment.  “Right, sorry. Obviously.”  _ Of course he’s not a homophobe, he’s on a date with you right now, you dolt. _

But a small part of Virgil couldn’t help but be wary that this was all just some prank, some huge joke, and Roman was going to yell ‘gotcha!’ and call his friends to laugh over this.   _ “How stupid is this emo freak, thinking I’d actually date him?” _

“It’s alright, I get it.  Really. Sometimes I forget that not everyone’s out to judge me, too.”  Roman smiled at him, sweet and genuine, and Virgil’s breath punched out of his lungs.  God, was the Drama King  _ trying _ to kill him?  The boy’s stupid smile was the whole reason Virgil had been dumb enough to say yes to this date, anyway (though, he had to admit, it was going better than he’d expected), but Virgil had never seen this expression on the other’s face.

“I… yeah.”

That smile widened.  “So, black coffee? Really?  How can you stand it?”

 

 

 

-

 

 

 


End file.
